Good move. When an injured Brandon Spikes is in? Burn him on a crossing pattern with literally anybody. Hell, you could do that when he was healthy. It's going to suck if the Pats are trying to get a stop down in the fourth quarter.

Gunny Highway:There are a lot of very confident Pats fans up here and I am not understanding it.

Gunny Highway:There are a lot of very confident Pats fans up here and I am not understanding it.

I think it could only be because of how wide open the AFC is. I don't think the Patriots have the defense to go into Denver and win, but San Diego does. And you also never know if Peyton Manning is going to throw you the ball 2-3 times, so anything is possible.

And the Colts defense was shredded by KC last week, I don't think Andrew Luck is going to put up the 31-35 points he's going to need to win in Foxboro.

rjakobi:Denial is a strong part of Boston sports culture. You can see that with Red Sox and Celtic fans too.

what denial? We accepted for 86 years that there was no chance in hell the Sox were going to win a series. Hell, game 4 of '04, we were convinced until that last strikeout that the loss was inevitable. Have the younger fans become accustomed to winning? Probably. The region is in a golden age of sports. But fark you if you think we don't know that the Sox will blow next season, the celtics won't even hit .500 in the next decade and the Bruins may be lucky to make it beyond the first round of the playoffs for the next few seasons.

and then there are the Pats, who haven't won the last two superbowl appearances and we all know that Brady hasn't been the same since the knee injury. Will the game against Indy be awesome to watch? Yes. Will it be a nail-biter? Probably. Will we win? Depends on how Lucky they are.

our golden age is fading and most sports fans here who are actual new england sports fans realize this and have come to terms with our fading sports glory. The celtics kicked it off, the Sox have kept the light burning for a bit longer, but once Brady or Belichick retires, then you can fold this chapter on "Awesome regions for sports teams"

Not worried about it this week. Won't be worried about it when the Chargers get here next week. I'll be worried in the Super Bowl because the teams in the other conference that have a shot of winning their next two games run it a bit more.

jaylectricity:Not worried about it this week. Won't be worried about it when the Chargers get here next week. I'll be worried in the Super Bowl because the teams in the other conference that have a shot of winning their next two games run it a bit more.

jaylectricity:Not worried about it this week. Won't be worried about it when the Chargers get here next week. I'll be worried in the Super Bowl because the teams in the other conference that have a shot of winning their next two games run it a bit more.

the NFC has been healthier and more loaded than the AFC this year, that much is true

rjakobi:Gunny Highway: There are a lot of very confident Pats fans up here and I am not understanding it.

Denial is a strong part of Boston sports culture. You can see that with Red Sox and Celtic fans too.

Sox just won World Series. Pats? Since Kraft bought the team it's 3 Super Bowl wins, 6 appearances, 7 AFC a championships and something like 15 AFC championships. Bruins look good and the Celts are well are there way to rebuilding with 8 first round picks in the next four years... And counting.

Waxing_Chewbacca:rjakobi: Gunny Highway: There are a lot of very confident Pats fans up here and I am not understanding it.

Denial is a strong part of Boston sports culture. You can see that with Red Sox and Celtic fans too.

Sox just won World Series. Pats? Since Kraft bought the team it's 3 Super Bowl wins, 6 appearances, 7 AFC a championships and something like 15 AFC championships. Bruins look good and the Celts are well are there way to rebuilding with 8 first round picks in the next four years... And counting.

I think it's less denial than understandable optimism.

8 appearances in the AFC championship game, not 7.Pats have only had a losing record once in the 19 seasons that Kraft has owned the team.

overfienduglar:Waxing_Chewbacca: rjakobi: Gunny Highway: There are a lot of very confident Pats fans up here and I am not understanding it.

Denial is a strong part of Boston sports culture. You can see that with Red Sox and Celtic fans too.

Sox just won World Series. Pats? Since Kraft bought the team it's 3 Super Bowl wins, 6 appearances, 7 AFC a championships and something like 15 AFC championships. Bruins look good and the Celts are well are there way to rebuilding with 8 first round picks in the next four years... And counting.

I think it's less denial than understandable optimism.

8 appearances in the AFC championship game, not 7.Pats have only had a losing record once in the 19 seasons that Kraft has owned the team.

I stand corrected in a good way. I don't see BB or Brady leaving anytime soon either. And as I said, sox just won, bruins look set for a bit and the celtics should rebuild rather quickly as Danny Ainge has them very well situated.

Gunny Highway:There are a lot of very confident Pats fans up here and I am not understanding it.

I'm confident in that I don't think there is a team out there that the Pats can't beat, but I also realize that any of the teams left could also stomp a mudhole in the Pats' poopers. For every 'if Alex Smith can light them up then how do you think Brady will do' optimistic thought there is a 'some team is going to figure out the Pats run defense couldn't stop a pregnant woman in high heels from gaining 5 yards a carry' worry.

Gunny Highway:There are a lot of very confident Pats fans up here and I am not understanding it

That's normal, really. When I was back home out east during the Xmas break, I watched their final regular season game with some family members and more than half of them were going absolutely bonkers over the win. I got the "cynical, pessimistic asshole" by simply pointing out "Guys, we beat the Bills...who gives a fark".

I am not a Pats fan so I sit quietly for the most part. My wife's grandfather is constantly muttering about Brady being a bum and wanting Randy Moss back, my brother in laws flip flop between wondering why they didnt "go deep" and wondering why a guy who hasnt been on the team in 3 seasons "isnt out there," my mother in law tells everyone to focus and then proceeds to start a conversation about something else. My father in law keep quiet like me and we silently catch eyes and wonder what the fark is going on.

Yep, but with my family (except my Dad who's from WI and likes the Packers while hating the Patriots, humorously enough) they're pretty much all-in on the "Brady/Belichick is the best QB/coach ever" bus, so I get to cringe while they blame a blatant overthrow by Brady on the WR/weather/moon phase/whatever, or credit an unrelated bonehead play by the opposition as "coaching brilliance by Belichick".

I am not a Pats fan so I sit quietly for the most part. My wife's grandfather is constantly muttering about Brady being a bum and wanting Randy Moss back, my brother in laws flip flop between wondering why they didnt "go deep" and wondering why a guy who hasnt been on the team in 3 seasons "isnt out there," my mother in law tells everyone to focus and then proceeds to start a conversation about something else. My father in law keep quiet like me and we silently catch eyes and wonder what the fark is going on.

Oh, how I love the holidays.

Ha. In your family's defense, they really should be fielding their best receiving corps of Randy Moss, Deion Branch, Terry Glenn, & Aaron Hernandez. What are they thinking, with a 5'10" running back as their best deep threat?

Yep, but with my family (except my Dad who's from WI and likes the Packers while hating the Patriots, humorously enough) they're pretty much all-in on the "Brady/Belichick is the best QB/coach ever" bus, so I get to cringe while they blame a blatant overthrow by Brady on the WR/weather/moon phase/whatever, or credit an unrelated bonehead play by the opposition as "coaching brilliance by Belichick".

I have no horse in the "best QB/coach" race but, I find it really difficult to call BB a "bad coach" when he seems to be able to coninuously take relatively unknown talent and make it into a winning team. That in itself, is really impressive and much less common.

somedude210:jaylectricity: Not worried about it this week. Won't be worried about it when the Chargers get here next week. I'll be worried in the Super Bowl because the teams in the other conference that have a shot of winning their next two games run it a bit more.

I would love to see a Carolina/New England Superbowl

/never gonna happen, but how awesome would that be?

Only awesome if my cousin the Panther PSL owner invited me to meet him in Jersey.